Apparatus for compartment heating



Feb. 9, 1954 R. R. ANDERSON APPARATUS FOR COMPARTMENT HEATING Filed Deo. 5, 1949 Rex R. Anderson.

NVENTOR BY s ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 9, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE'pf,

APPARATUS FOR COMPARTMENT HEATING Rex R. Anderson, Bay City, Mich.

Application December 5, 1949, Serial No. 131,219

The present invention relates broadly to compartments having a special heating system, and in its specific phases to house trailers having a floor with spaced apart upper and lower panels with a heating fluid duct mounted. therebetween, said duct having sidewise extending heat conducting members for extended warming of the upper oor panel.

Prior to 1940, practically every house trailer was made with a single floor which was commonly of air-tight or solid construction and insulated. That type of construction was highly satisfactory for warm weather uses but caused extreme discomfort in cold weather, and especially so when outdoor temperatures were below freezing. That discomfort was due to two major causes. The rst of these was that in cold Weather the oor of the house trailer was exceedingly cold even though the temperature within the trailer near the ceiling was as high as 90 F. The second was that with outdoor temperatures of F. or lower, the inner face of the floor and walls, particularly at the ends of the trailer, was so cold that it would sweat and that sweat would freeze and thaw with the fall and rise of outdoor temperatures. This condition was aggravated in the longer house trailers and especially so when same were partially or fully partitioned into rooms.

As a means of helping to overcome the two noted causes of discomfort, I devised the hollow double oor house trailer heating system wherein the stove was connected direct to the hollow space in the floor, with registers opening into same at each end of the house trailer. A thin layer of insulation, in the `form of a iiberboard insulation panel, was placed on the bottom of the house trailer and by circulating air in series throughpthe hollow floor and the stove, the first trailer construction, which was fairly comfortable for use as living quarters in cold weather, was evolved as set forth in my Patent No. 2,225,244. However, the heat losses through the bottom panel of the iloor were excessive and it was difficult to force warm air through the full length of the hollow floor'and have same come out of the registers feeling warm. kThis hollow air space, moreover, served to catch lint and dust which was highly inflammable and caused an ever present danger of re as well as dust ex- 2 claims. (0l. 237-43) plosion. To overcome this fire and dust explosion hazard, I devised a metal duct system with the ductsplaced in the open space of the hollow floor as shown in my Patent No. 2,417,463. That system depended upon radiation of heat' into the hollow open space in the floor to produce a warmed area, which was limited to the space between the pair of longitudinal floor iframe members between which the hot air duct passed, as well as circulation of heated air through the duct to the ends of the trailer. Loss of heat by radiation through the bottom panel of the floor was still excessive, and the floor and linoleum directly above the duct was frequently so hot that it was somewhatuncomfortable for continuous standing, and the life of the linoleum was undesirably shortened. It was a vrecognition of room heating problems, as well as the diiculties and shortcomings of the prior house trailer heating systems, which lead to the conception and development of the present invention.

Accordingly, among the object of the present invention is the provision of a metal duct type of heating system installed in the hollow space between two floor panels and adjacent the upper one, with the space beside and under the ductwork being filled with insulation so as to completely eliminate open air spaces andminimize downward radiation loss of heat.

Another object -is to provide a heat insulation panel between the top of the hot air carrying portion of the duct assembly and the upper oor panel directly adjacent thereto to protect same from being excessively heated. Y

Another object is to utilize a wide sheet metal panel to form sidewise extensions from a hot air duct mounted directly below the upper panel of the floor, said extending metal panel carrying heat by conduction from said hot air duct to slightly warm the upper floor panel which is directly adjacent and preferably in contact with a portion of said panel remote from said duct.

Another object is to construct the double oor assembly in relatively air-tight sections for rigidly supporting the floor and facilitating the controlling of the moderate heating of a substantial portion of the upper panel of same.

Another object is to provide a hollow floor for a compartment wherein there is a heating duct system in said hollow floor with a heat insulating panel above the fluid carryingv portion of said duct system, and a relatively thick Abody of insulation under said duct system so that heat loss through .the bottom panel is minimized, the upper panel is not overheated, heated air may be forced rapidly through the duct, and such air will emergetherefrom at a satisfactorily warm tem- Derature. Y

- further object is to provide a duct type heat- :lng system installed in the doublefloor of a com;-

partment to be heated, and wherein the open air space in said double oor is eliminated and at the same time two duct systems are utilized with one running to one end of the compartment, and the other to the other end of the compartment, with each duct system having its own individual air circulating fan assembly.

A further object is to provide a panel heating system .for..house. trailers and...theA like-wherein room air is to be mixed with the heated air in the top of the stove for delivery into the ductwork, this permits the warm air in the upper portion of the compartment to be drawn in through grills 3| and mixed with the stove heated air for more eiicient compartment heating. This stove will have conventional inlets II at its bottom for air to be heated, and it will also be provided withaa...conventionalsdoon I-,Zefor access said system is simple; of moderate cost,-easyrto in- V'intothe iirept. *At the top -bfthe' stoveand constall, eflicient, and safe.

Still further objects and advantages of the present invention will appearas .the description proceeds.

nected to the heated air space thereof, are fans @I3 and I4 driven by the electric motors I5 and I6. The outletfrom each of the fans I3 and, I4

fisrconnectedlbyfmeans of individual pipes I'I to To the accomplishment of the foregoing\.and15theircorresponding cross ducts I8 and I9.

related ends, the invention, then, consi'sts of the heating means hereinafter Sful'ly descibd and particularly pointed out in the claims,.,the annexed drawing and the following description setting forth in detail certain means of carrying cuir-thev invention; such disclosed Imeans""illustra-'t- Aing,howeverg but= lseveral of f fthe-*various Waysin which the principlejo-the invention maybe used.

iIn-jzhe annexeddrawing- 'iFgu-re 1- showsa'-l top view-of1`thefoor portion ofA ahouse trailer with the-stove lin place, andthe upperpanel of the hoor-removed' to show someiof thejdetails ofthe innerconstruction-of` same.

Figure '2- shows -in e'diagrammaticmanner afverticaksectionof a''house trailerequippedonlyiwith a'` stove iandfdu'ct systemyall' as-takenat lineZ-LZ of Figure 41V looking-inthedirection' of the-arrows.

j-'zligurejf3`^v shovvsan enlarge'dsfragmentaryl sectionAv throughl the `house trailerk floor takenrat line arrows, and ,illustratingoneformy of the ximproved floorheating duct system.

Figure i 4 I`shows asectionalview' 'of f amod'ied :form ofthe heatingfductsystemr'illustrated in Figure?.

Figure 5-showsav perspectiveviewnfapref erred 'form of oneof "the cross members.V` which*y extends `crossvvise Aof-*and under theheatingiduct.

Referring moreparticula'rly:toiFfigures-i1 andY 2 "ofithe drawing itwill be noted that; the. ioor jportion of thehouse.trai1er utilizes 'longitudinal framing members I and crossframingmembers *2, 'all Apreferably vof woodflwhich form'multiple Vrelatively airtight sections i in `:the ".'iloor'Y between its Ajnpper A'panel 31and` lowerpanel 1Il whichY are .preferably of 'tight construction. This Upper panel is preferably made. Aof plywood, the :upper surface of which-is commonly '.coveredwith. lin- Aoleurn,` Whilew the lower panel ispreferably, made Yout of sheet metal4 so .asto be ireproof aswell 'aswateran'd airtight. "Conventionalwheel wells V,5 andg; are usedjtomprovide clearanceffor'thel upper portion ,.of^"the';whee1s (not. shown) onuWhich the whole;assembly1is transiczortably mounted, ,but which does notgformpart ofthepresentinvention. A'The jdouble'loor'isnormally mounted on agpair oftubular. steel frame members `1 and i8, and theseframel members Vin turnI arej provided with;cross members "9, which..are'preferably of .steel and .wel'ded to them. This 'gives avery 'strong vv,foundation #for r` the Ywhole assembly ',and .one Avszhichis` readily adaptedor mounting on a suitable wheeled .chassis '(,not shown).-

'Mounted in the oor, and directly under top .emmen-3fiiheregfearesthe forward and rear duct- '.Various .types `of vstoves I IJ. canibeusedjnconknection with;the .present`heating systemanda workassemblyl2u,...is.providedlan .outlet register preferredyformof. same is of V elongateMonstruotion extending above mid-ceilingheightof the compartment. allows ,the use of alonger repot 'jnot shown) infitne gstove, which facili-l tatesmore eiicientheat radiation and where Workiassemblies 20 and 2|. Each of these assembliesfin preferred construction, utilizes a metal heat conducting plate 22, Figure 3which is provid-ed fwitheai=iongmidinuyefecessdpoiiuenfzs. Aiheat-insulatingf-panlmadefrom affm-atfeiil *sucnasfasbestosg ismountd' -infthis'"dongitudine-l-y l1y lrecessed space" to* reducerheat"ow'directlyfiip throu'g'hthefloor-froni theihottestlpotinjfithe assembly-landyetfiperznitiiheat'to"beco''du d 'sidewise through pla-teu 21tofsfe1y'warm aiiarger portion of the floor, and Whichfinoiimlly would be a Amaj or portieri ofitheaexposedi'upper surface of'same. Aconvenientiw f o lpanel-g2 ,when used 4in a `house trail'er;'-is"`from'30" to which thus --makes possible warmingfaspaceV '-widerthan between a pairv ff-thelongitidinal floor? members;r I. ll'Mounted'lsubs-t of'- same, is a substantiz'illyY l-J-:shapef member'ZS, Figure 3; withfthe inner portionf ofsame'"forining with* said" heat conductingy plate 2 2f an'fopen passagewayfZB-adaptd 'to'have such-'as airf f orced'jtherthrugh. l `tween upper and-lowerioor'fpanels A 'below the'iduct assemblyfis `vcompletejly" lfilledwvith an" insulating ymateriali 27; preferably 'of"'thel'ilior-` ous andilre proof typernadfr'om-fusefd'l rock "or glass,` 'such as `is nowcommonly' called-rokiwl, benglassfexpanded mica;` orth'elike. Theyspa'e 'between'topi ardtbttom'panels `3 and Ili -erabiyaboutz"f-andrwitnfa lwfdepth duce-12p, there is over a 1" thickness of heat in'slati'on ybetween that @duet ansteuern Apanel 4. :This typeor" construction thususes f the`v heatiinsulating'panel 211i` tof'proteot thel upperp'anel "fthe floor from being v'ove'rlmezited, while insulating material "21 e'iciently `minimizes heat losses through..bottom panel''l'farin excess fany heat# '.edoor construction for 'house-.trailers hei'to- Aforeldevised.

.IA mo'died `construction Lf VV.the ductassembly 'is fshown" inFigurell where"'the`.heat conducting plate ".ZZa. has a. downwardlylbent. portion g2`5afivat its centerv whichy takes'thenplace ofl-U-:shapemyeni- .ber 25.`show.n.in-Eigurel3. Theupperfface-of'A this .U -shapeportionlisthen closedr by means of-heat insulatingpanl 24.. toform.abheaperwandmore .easily `fabricated yduct-work assembly.

. As Yshown in .Figure t1, the front vductg-.vvnorlz assemblyl'Zii is connectedltocross .duct |59 for .receiptUof heated ia-ir l'therethrough Yunder opera tioniofffan I4. nAtJtheforward.end ofthisductmatica'll'y illustrating theuse vof one or more registe'rs., as desired, in eachduct-work assembly.

',vBy"using separate longitudinal duct-work'as- 'semblies"'and Separate'f'ans connected to the heating space of the stove,'it is possible to deliver heat toueither end of the trailer compartment o r to both at the same time if sodesired. This becomes important if it is desired, for instance, to heat the forward o-r living portion of the trailer While allowing the rear or sleeping portion to be cooler, all of which can be readily accomplished by shutting oi or slowing down the fan delivering heated air to the sleeping portion of the trailer.

By utilizing duct-work assemblies as described herein, a relatively large area of the floor, usually a major portion of the exposed upper face of same, will be warmed so as to be comfortable without being excessively hot, ,and at the same time completely filling the hollow space of the iloor with insulation will make possible the delivery of truly warm air out of the registers, a thing which produces the most comfortable and eflicient house trailer heating construction for cold weather use which has been devised up to the present time.

In order to support the duct-work assembly between the center pair of longitudinal framing members I, there is provided at suitably spaced intervals special cross framing members 2a, Figure 5, which are provided with a notch 30 into which the U-shape member 25 can extend and be supported so as to prevent the assembly from sagging away from upper floor panel 3.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as a floor heating method and apparatus, it is not limited to such use since in compartment heating this same construction can be mounted in the sidewalls or ceiling of the compartment for heating same, and wherein panel 3 would be the inner face of the compartment wall or ceiling.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of those explained, change being made as regards the means herein disclosed, provided those stated by any of the following claims or their equivalent be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In a house trailer or the like which has insulated side and end walls, an insulated roof, an externally exposed double licor, the top and bottom portions of which are of tight construction and substantially uniform thickness throughout with a relatively shallow air space therebetween, and a heating stove, separate duct-work assemblies in the upper portion of the Space between said top and bottom panels of the floor, one of said duct-work assemblies starting approximately opposite the stove and extending forwardly of the house trailer while the other duct-work assembly also starts approximately opposite the stove and extends rearwardly of the house trailer, each of said duct-work assemblies having a heating fluid passageway of substantially U-shape extending lengthwise of and substantially centrally thereof, and also having a heat conducting metal panel means connected to and forming a closure for the upper side of the passageway and extending sidewise from the top thereof substantially parallel to said top oor panel, adjacent thereto] and in 'contact -with 'the'underfface f said floor panel in the'outer portions of 'said'heat conducting panel',.separateelectric 'fanapparatus andv ducts connecting the `upper portion of said stove to said duct-work assemblies so that -air heated-by said? stove can beV forced through either duct-work assembly or both at the same time,A each oi said duct-work assemblies having at leastone outlet register opening into theinteirior of said house trailer wth'such register being at the end of said assembly remote from the inlet thereto, both of said duct-work assemblies having a depressed upper portion with a heat insulating panel therein, said panel being between the heating fluid passageway of said ductwork and the upper panel of said iloor with said insulating panel preferably being a little wider than said heating uid passageway and adapted to retard heat flow direct from said passageway up through said upper panel of the floor, the heat insulation material iilling the open space between said top and bottom panels of said double floor outside of and below said heating fluid passageway, whereby heat from the heating fluid passing through said passageway is radiated up through the top panel of said oor not only from the upper face of said passageway but also from the upper face of said heat conducting metal panels which extend sidewise therefrom.

2. In a house trailer or the like which has insulated side and end walls, an insulated roof, an externally exposed double iloor, the top and bottom portions or" which are of tight construction and substantially uniform thickness throughout with a relatively shallow air space therebetween, and a heating stove, separate duct-work assemblies in the upper portion of the space between said top and bottom panels of the floor, one of said duct-work assemblies starting approximately opposite the stove and extending forwardly of the house trailer while the other duct-work assembly also starts approximately opposite the stove and extends rearwardly of the house trailer, each of said duct-work assemblies comprising a heat conducting metal panel means extending lengthwise of and substantially centrally thereof and having a substantially U- shaped centrally depressed longitudinally extending portion forming a heating fluid passageway, an insulating panel forming a closure for the open upper side of the heating fluid passageway with said insulating panel being a little Wider than said passageway and adapted to retard heat ow direct from said passageway up through said upper panel of said floor, side extensions on said metal panel means laterally of said insulating n panel being in contact with the under face of said top panel of the door outwardly of said insulating panel, separate electric fan apparatus and ducts connecting the upper portion of said stove to said duct-work assemblies so that air heated by said stove can be forced through either duct-work assembly or both at the same time, each of said duct-work assemblies having at least one outlet register opening into the interior of said house trailer with such register being at the end of said assembly remote from the inlet thereto, both of said duct-work assemblies having a depressed upper portion with the heat insulating panel therein, said panel being between the heating fluid passageway of said duct-work and the upper panel of said iioor with said insulating panel preferably being a little wider than said heating uid passageway and adapted to retard heat flow direct from said passageway up 

